Sutoikku Ai
by Baka Kyoko-Chan
Summary: It wasn't like they were that close in the past, so why did he come back for her? And why did she decide to leave with him? She never thought this stoic boy would ever acually say he missed her of all people. SasuHina. hiatus.
1. Coming back for you

**Kyoko:** So this was inspired by a dream I had a couple weeks ago, so enjoy it, read and review.

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It was late at night in Konohagakure of the fire country, the moon is shining brightly in the midnight sky, starts littered the heaves and a peaceful breeze drafted through the small room through the now opened window, Sharingan eyes scanned the room and a small smile graced the features of the young man who trust passed into a room not his own.

His eyes searched the room for only a brief moment before he found what he was looking for, a petite girl lay in her bed deeply asleep, she lay on her side looking quite lovely, dark navey-blue bangs framed her face in an almost angelic manner, her blanket only covered her waist up, it didn't cover her sleek well toned legs, Sasuke stared at the bottom half of her body for a while before going closer to her, he smiled again, she really had gotten even more beautiful from the last time he saw her. Sasuke ran his finger tips across the leg that was closest to him; he couldn't resist the urge to touch her.

She didn't awake from his gentle touch but she stirred slightly, Sasuke began stroking her legs, taking the utmost care as if afraid he might harm her.

_She's so soft…_

Hinata suddenly let out a content sigh, seeming to enjoy the touch she was receiving from the Uchiha Avenger, his smiled widened ever so slightly. He was now sitting on the edge of her bed but she still did not wake, some ninja… She looked as if she felt completely at peace, like she was happy. Sasuke then noticed her long hair, it was sprawled across her bed, it was like a beautiful waterfall of deep indigo, he wondered when she had started growing it out, he sighed somewhat, he pondered, how much of her life did he miss?

True, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata were not that close, but they were friends to some extent, they even talked every once in a while. He wanted to know how she reacted when he left the village, did she care? Did she notice? Was she worried? Sasuke may seem to be an emotionless cold icebox but over the years he had developed feelings for the young heiress, feelings he had for her alone.

Sasukes thoughts however were unable to continue as he found soft lovely lavender eyes staring at him and blinking in confusion, she instantly turned a delicate shade of scarlet as she saw his hand holding gently onto her lower thigh, her blushed intensified as she realized how close he actually was, his face was actually only mere inches away from her own. Sasuke had pictured her reaction somewhat differently, he thought she might be scared and jump up suddenly and shy away, but the only emotions evident on her pretty face was confusion.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked softly, peering at him from under beautifully thick dark eyelashes.

"Hey." he greeted her casually as if him being in her room at such a late hour was perfectly normal.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned softly, sort of surprised at her own bravery.

"I came to ask you something." He replied simply, smiling at her.

"What is it?" she was curious as to why Uchiha Sasuke would be here in her room, he was after all a missing nin, she wondered if anyone else knew.

She couldn't say she was unhappy though, for some odd reason she wanted him here, she could feel butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach, an almost happy feeling.

"Come with me Hinata. Leave Konoha with me," he paused for a moment before adding a please.

Hinata gaped at him, this was not the question she was expecting from him, well actually she didn't have any idea what he wanted but she certainly did not think he would ask her that.

"Sasuke-kun... I… what?" she seemed lost for words as she stared into his now coal-colored eyes.

"Come with me Hinata, leave Konoha with me." He repeated gazing at her intensely, "I don't have much time, so make up your mind quickly, please Hinata."

Hinata was now really lost for words, she didn't know what to say to him, she was confused to say the least, though she couldn't deny the feeling deep inside her that yearned for her to say yes, but she couldn't just leave her village, her friends, her family just like that… or could she?

"Sasuke-kun, I…I… don't think… I can…" she muttered quietly.

"You know," he began, stopping briefly to gather his words, "You don't know what you have until it's gone, as the saying goes, ne?"

"Sasuke-kun… what do you mean?..." she asked him, she couldn't quite understand, Sasuke and her were never that close they were just acquaintances at best.

"Hinata, I didn't realize how much a cared for you until after I left the village to go join Orohcimaru, I miss you Hinata, I miss having you around..."

His little confession was something she never thought she'd never hear from the stoic Uchiha survivor, in the past she would have wanted it to come from Naruto, many times she had pictured it but now it was coming from the blonde boys ex-best friend and she…. she liked it…

"So please Hinata, come with me?" he asked again, looking at her with burning coal-eyes.

Hinata closed her lavender hues, contemplating, apart of her wanted to stay in Konoha with her dearest friends but then something inside her urged her to say yes, why not? Why though? Did she love him? Did he love her? What was the reason?

_Because I want too…_ Hinata nearly gasped, because she wanted too?

Hinata opened her eyes slowly and looked into his own eyes, she seemed like she had decided. She nodded her head; a clear and soft yes came from her lips.

"I'll leave with you."

"Then pack what you need, we need to leave soon." replied Sasuke, he had his stoic demure back on but his eyes were clearly dancing, he was happy.

Hinata got up from her bed and headed towards her dresser, she looked down at her usual attire in her drawer, but she decided against it, shaking her head, if she was leaving Konoha she wasn't going to leave wearing that.

She then remembered a shinobi outfit Sakura and Ino had bought her a few months back, saying that she should show off more of her sexy curvaceous body, Hinata had blushed at them and told thanks but she never wore the clothes much to Sakura and Ino's disappointment. Hinata closed the drawer and headed over to her closet, she found a box in the corner and opened it, she went towards the bathroom, she slipped on the clothes and peered at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a sleeveless black top that hugged her body nicely it had a fishnet cover that cut off at her upper thigh, she wore tight dark navy-blue almost black pants that cut off just above her knees, her left leg was in fishnet tights, her right leg was left bare and finally she wore the casual black shinobi shoes.

Hinata took a look at herself in the mirror and gasped softly, she looked like a different person, more confident, more determined, more gorgeous. After she was done admiring herself the heiress grabbed what necessities she might need for her traveling with Sasuke, she found a small light beige messenger type bag and put the items in it, she then walked out of the bathroom with the bag slung around her shoulder.

Sasuke watched her very closely as she exited the bathroom, he studied her like a hawk would studied his prey just before taking it, the outfit she was wearing was quite appealing in Sasuke's opinion, much better then that large jacket she use to wear. He continued to watch her as she put her weapons and ninja supplies in her shuriken holster and kunai pouch, she also grabbed a medic kit and an extra set of clothes and placed them in her beige bag, this girl liked to be prepared. Hinata turned to Sasuke and smiled shyly, he was lounging on her bed as if it were his own.

"Are you ready Hinata?" he asked, beginning to stand up.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun, I'm ready." she replied, walking over to him.

He nodded his head and without another word the two were out of the window and gone, once they were out of Konoha Hinata took one last look at her old home, a faint frown appeared on her face as she realized she might not see this place in a long time. Sasuke waited for her a few feet away, he knew it would be hard for her at first but she would adjust, she was strong, she could do it.

"Goodbye." She murmured softly before turning away and leaving with Sasuke.

* * *

Nejji scowled, Hinata was late for her morning training with her team, she was never ever late, there must be something wrong, Neji could feel it, something wasn't right. The Hyuuga prodigy made his way towards his younger cousins room and opened the door, only to find that it was empty, none the less he walked inside and looked around the room, he ended up finding a folded note on her nightstand.

_Dear, friends and family._

_I have left Konoha, please don't think that any of you did anything wrong or something, you've all been wonderful. This is something I've decided for myself, I want to become stronger and I'm with someone who will help me, someone who will also look out for me. I trust this person I'm with so please don't go looking for me, I'm certain you won't find me anyway. Maybe one day I'll come back… Till then, keep well._

_-Hinata._

Neji stared blankly at the paper in his hand, he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, Hinata left Konoha? It couldn't be possible, she would never and more importantly who is this person she is with?

Neji didn't waste anytime telling his uncle and then heading towards the Hokages tower with swift haste, he barged through the door without even asking permission to enter, he looked around the room, it would seem that team Kakashi just got back from a mission. Neji ignored the stares he was getting and continued to walk forward.

"Hokage-sama, Hinata-sama is gone."

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**Kyoko:** So dearies, what did ya think? Honest opinions, review!


	2. New faces

Hinata and Sasuke had been traveling for the whole night it seemed, the bright orange sun was now rising in front of them, Sasuke then turned around and told Hinata she could rest if she wanted to, and that's when Hinata saw how handsome Sasuke had gotten over the years, Hinata had to admit it, even though she wasn't one of his ravenous fan girls and she still isn't she could still see what they saw in him, looks wise anyway. Her lavender hues finally trailed over the part of his outfit where his chest and stomach were left plain in view, she blushed lightly upon seeing his well-toned body and seemingly perfect skin…

"Hn, like what you see?" he asked, snapping the Hyuuga out of her thoughts, Hinata looked up at his face again, her blush intensifying, he was smirking at her. "I..I.. Uh well, it's j-just that I haven't seen y-you in a while, you've um, changed." she stammered quickly, looking away from him now, feeling rather embarrassed to be caught staring so rudely.

"Hn." was his only reply as he walked over to a tree and leaned himself upon it, his eyes closed, resting.

Hinata watched him with curious lavender hues, staring at him intently again, he looked so at peace, Hinata blushed again, she thought he looked cute like that… Hinata was broken away from her thoughts once again though when Sasukes mouth twitched into another smirk, he was now gazing at her with only one eye open, if Hinata didn't know any better she'd say he was winking at her.

The young Hyuuga immediately blushed brighter and looked away to the side, embarrassed yet again, maybe it was just her imagination but she could have sworn she heard the Uchiha Avenger laugh.

Suddenly Hinata began to feel pretty tired, that all night run was probably now taking its toll on her and the food pills effects have worn off as well. Hinata yawned softly and made her way over to a tree near the one Sasuke was leaning on, she sat down and leaned her self against it, closing her eyes right when she made contact with the ground. It was now Sasukes turn to stare at her. Sasuke would never say it out loud but he thought the Hyuuga before him looked rather beautiful, he continued to peer at her seemingly asleep form, trying to memorize every single detail about her appearance, her long silky-looking indigo locks, her lengthy dark eyelashes, her succulent creamy colored skin, her very appealing outfit, her… Sasuke stopped his thoughts when he saw her fidget, he smirked again, he knew she could feel his eyes staring at her but before she could even open hers Sasuke was already looking away, a stoic genius like him would never get caught staring at anybody, a girl no less.

Lavender hues soon opened blinking in slight confusion as she peered over at Sasuke who was turned away from her, Hinata could have sworn he was looking at her, but maybe that was just her imagination again, she shrugged and went back to her nap.

* * *

Sasuke had been watching her sleep for the past two hours; it was already eight in the morning. Sasuke didn't exactly know why he asked her to come with him, okay he did know, he'd admit that he had a small infatuation with the girl and that he found her intriguing, but the reasons he was infatuated and intrigued he didn't really know and that irritated him and everyone knew an irritated Uchiha Avenger wasn't pleasant to be around, but lucky for Hinata he wouldn't take his frustration out on her, at least not yet anyway… 

Sasuke was standing over her now, contemplating what to do with her, he could just wake her up of course but Sasuke didn't want to for whatever reason be the one who disturbed her peaceful sleep, so with much carefulness and skill Sasuke picked her up bridal style without waking her and began their journey again.

* * *

Hours later long black eyelashes fluttered open, at first the girl in Uchiha Sasukes arms did nothing, she just stared up at the Avenger in innocent confusion, then she noticed the trees that just seemed to be flying past them, she herself felt like she was flying, and then she realized she felt really warm and comfortable, with her head leaning on Sasukes shoulder and her hands clutching his shirt and his arms around her… Hinata suppressed the urge to scream loudly, she fidgeted somewhat and looked back at Sasukes impassive face, in turn he looked down at her, his face stoic as ever but his eyes looked amused.

He ended up smirking at her, "Want down?" he asked, Hinata nodded slowly and Sasuke stopped and set her down on a large tree branch, "Have a good nap?" he questioned, still wearing that smirk on his face. "Y-yes, thank you." she replied quietly, fidgeting with her clothes nervously.

"We're almost there." he stated, not looking at her but straight ahead, "Wh-where are we going Sasuke-kun?" she asked timidly, staring at his back. "We're meeting up with my team, team Hebi." he replied simply, beginning to run again without another word, Hinata continued to stare at his back curiously and with a soft sigh began fallowing him again.

* * *

Sasuke and Hinata didn't have to travel much longer, two hours at most until they were out of the forest and at their destination. They were at a small waterfall, surrounded by rocks, big and small, a few random trees and vegetation. Three figures were lounging about by one of the biggest rocks; two of the figures were leaning on the boulder while the other one was sitting at the top. As they got closer Hinata could now make out what the figures look like, one was obviously female, she has red eyes, matching hair color and an unusual hairstyle; her hair is short and unkempt on one side, and long and combed on the other. The other two were male, the one leaning on the rock near the female was somewhat tall and large, he has orangeish hair with equally orangeish eyes. Finally, the last one the one who is sitting on the rock has pale almost white green hair, aquamarine eyes and shark-like teeth.

Now being even closer Hinata could see that the female had a scowl on her face, obviously not liking Hinata's presence, the large one remained impassive while the shark-like one looked undecided.

"Hinata," called Sasuke from beside her, she turned her attention to him indicating that he could go on, "This is team Hebi, Team Hebi meet Hyuuga Hinata." Sasuke said, looking quite emotionless.

"Sasuke-kun!!" cried the female waltzing up to the two newcomers and slinging an arm around Sasukes neck, "You didn't tell me you were bringing back a _female_!" she hissed the last word, glaring at the Hyuuga.

Hinata cringed under glare and backed up a step. Upon seeing this Sasuke sighed and shrugged the red-head off of him, "Stop being so annoying," replied Sasuke looking irritated, "And introduce yourself." He commanded, stepping away from the girl.

The red-headed female merely 'hmphed' and crossed her arms stubbornly, the one who sat on the rock finally decided to speak, "Karin, stop being a bitch and introduce yourself." He said, looking just as annoyed as Sasuke if not more, "Oh and by the way I'm Suigetsu." He stated, he didn't smile at Hinata but he wasn't glaring either, that earned a silent sigh of relief from the indigo-haired girl.

The red-head, Karin, made her way closer to Hinata, now her face was just inches from the timid girl, "You already introduced me bastard," replied Karin nastily, Hinata could feel the others breath on her face, "So yeah, I'm Karin and…" she leaned into Hinata's right ear, "Sasuke-kun is mine." with that said Karin walked away and went to stand as close as she could to Sasuke.

Finally the biggest one of the group stepped forward and went towards Hinata and held out one of his large hands which Hinata shook timidly, as big as the mans hand was he was shaking Hinatas hand gently, even though it seemed like he could crush her hand so easily if he wanted too, "My name is Juugo, it's a pleasure to meet you Hinata-san." He said, a slight smile upon his face, Hinata smiled bashfully at him as she released his hand, "It's a pl-pleasure to meet y-you as well Juugo-kun." she replied kindly.

During the whole scene Sasuke was watching warily which Karin noticed and glared daggers at the shy girl, "Hmph, what's so special about that little whore anyway?" she muttered spitefully and unluckily for Karin, Sasuke heard that.

Upon hearing Hinata insulted his blood boiled and he was filled with rage, he turned to Karin and glared at the girl with intense hatred. Karin herself did not notice the heated glare until her spine tingled, sending a shivering wave of fear throughout her body, she turned towards Sasuke and as tough as she may be she couldn't help but gulp nervously.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her even more but turned away after a few more minutes, which made Karin sigh in relief. _'Tch, honestly! What's with Sasuke-kun today? That Hyuuga bitch thinks she can take him from me? Well, she's in for surprise.'_ thought Karin menacingly, as her lips twitched into an evil smirk.

"Well," began Sasuke, crossing his arms over his chest, looking around his team, "We're going to head out now. No doubt Konoha has sent ninja after Hinata, let's leave before they get any closer." he said as he began walking away.

Suigetsu made a small sound of annoyance at Sasuke, for one he didn't like how Sasuke acted like he was boss and two he didn't like having to 'head out' just because this Hyuuga girl has ninja after her. But none the less Suigetsu fallowed after Sasuke as did Hinata, Karin and Juugo.

* * *

About five Konoha shinobi and a large white dog stopped at a random tree branch, the dog sniffed the branch and barked, "She's been through here." said one of the nin, he himself sniffing the air around. "No mistaking it." He continued, his black slit eyes narrowing as he looked around. 

"You sure Kiba?" asked one of the others, sound quite anxious.

"Yeah Naruto, no doubt about it." replied the Inuzuka.

"Hm, we should get going then. Hinata-sama can't be too far a head." said another voice, sounding quite impatient.

"Right then, everyone back in formation. Kiba, Shino to the front, Naruto, Neji, to the back, and of course I'll be in the middle. This is so troublesome." the newest voice muttered the last part quietly.

"Okay Shikamaru, eveyones ready, let's go."

"Hai hai. Go."

And the five shinobi set off again.

* * *

Team Hebi and their newly recruited member were taking a brief rest so Suigetsu could fill up his water bottles at a river. Hinata was standing off to the side watching the people around her contently; she also seemed lost in thought and didn't notice the Uchiha behind her, though with Sasukes skill he would be able to sneak up on her even if she wasn't lost in thought. 

"Yo," called Sasuke softly, earning him a surprised squeak from the girl in front of him which only made him smirk, "I was just wondering... what did Karin say to you when she whispered in your ear?" he asked her, "S-she said that you're h-hers." answered Hinata honestly. Sasuke snorted in half-amusement half-annoyance, him Karins? Never.

"Well, she's a liar."

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Well here you go.

In answer to your questions, the title: 'Sutoikku Ai' means 'Stoic Love'. I thought that'd be a good choice because Sasuke is a rather stoic person.

Yes, amazed aren't you? This fic was inspired by one of my many odd dreams. I know you're all thinking that Hinata and Sasuke are falling to fast but hey that's how it went in the dream so that's how it's going to go here. And yes Sasuke is a little OOC and I'm trying to keep him as in character as I can but who wouldn't soften up a bit with a cute shy girl around, ne?

Then, there has been some argument about how team Hebi looks. Especially with Suigetsu. Some say white hair, others green while some fancy blue. But whatever his hair color is I'm certain it's a light and pale color so I chose pale almost white green. With Karin and Juugo it was a tad bit easier to decide. Some say Karins hair is red while some say black, I chose red, it's more appealing in my opinion. Juugo is said to either have brown hair or orange so I ended up picking Orangeish, like somewhat brown but yeah...

Oh and I didn't go into detail with their outfits because I'm sure you already know what they look like plus I'm not that talented with describing clothes...


	3. Problems

**Kyoko:** Well, here you go. Finally another chapter. I'm really, truly sorry for the long wait. I don't really think it's very good but uhm, I hope you enjoy it anyway.

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"_Well, she's a liar."_

Sasukes voice echoed threw Hinata head as she and Team Hebi raced through the green trees that so thoroughly surrounded them. They way he said it made it seem like it had double meaning, it sounded just plain irritated and yet so seductive almost. The lavender eyed girl didn't really know what to think of it. This Uchiha Sasuke, The avenger confused her so much.

* * *

It seemed to Hinata that all her and her new companions did was run, run and run some more. They didn't even stop for lunch or anything and to be quite frank the young heiress was getting rather hungry. Considering the time it was seven in the evening but luckily for her Sasuke put up a hand signaling that they could stop.

"Well, I think we've outrun those idiots for long enough today." muttered the Uchiha as he leaned himself idly against a tree.

Karin _coincidentally_ leaned on the same tree. For whatever reason that bothered Hinata and she looked away with indifference and then finally sighed softly when Sasuke grunted in annoyance and went to a different tree. Karin herself sighed and slumped down to the ground.

During the whole little scene Suigetsu and Juugo watched carefully, almost seeming interested as if it were some sort of drama on TV.

But Hinata's secret relief didn't last long because Karin started swooning and gushing over Sasuke all over again, saying the usual unsophisticated compliments, latching herself to his arm, neck and waist and she even tried planting one on his cheek every few minutes.

Once more Hinata looked away with indifference, she was really aggravated, she couldn't really understand why it bothered her so much. She let another sigh escape her lips and then started digging threw the bag she brought with her. Suigetsu was bored so he went over to Hinata and kneeled down next to where she sat gingerly on the forest floor.

"What are you doing?" he suddenly asked, making the girl squeak in fear for a small moment.

"Oh Suigetsu-san… I'm just looking for some matches, I... f-figure I b-better make some f-food, ne?" she explained softly, trying not to sound too nervous but then again she sounded more out of it then nervous.

At that Karin eyed the girl with great distaste and pursed her lips, "Well, I'm not eating anything you make you little…" she trailed off momentarily as she felt her spine tingle in fear; Sasuke was clearly glaring at her, "girl." She finished lamely, crossing her arms snobbishly for better effect, "You'll probably poison it either that or it'll taste completely disgusting."

Suigetsu chuckled darkly, "Your cooking really isn't that good either Karin. In fact I'd rather eat dog shit then your cooking."

Juugo nodded in silent agreement. Sasuke was thinking the same thing.

Hinata just heaved another soft sigh, she would then look up from her bag and stare at Karin with indifferent lavender hues, "Karin-san, I'm sorry that you hate me so much but if you really think that I would poison your food or that it would taste disgusting then you don't have to eat, I don't care." she stated coolly, not a stutter or stammer in sight.

Shortly after the words were out of Hinata's mouth she started rummaging threw her bag once more, doing her best to ignore the heated and hateful glare that she was receiving from the red-head. Hinata really was trying her best to put on a strong front but inwardly she was still cringing, stuttering and shying.

The three males in the group were impressed with Hinata, they of course being the prideful men that they were would never voice it aloud but none the less they were somewhat impressed. Sasuke especially, his dark coal-eyes found themselves gazing at her again as if she was the most interesting thing in the world; he narrowed his eyes slightly but not in anger but as if trying to see threw her, as if trying to find out what's really going on in her mind. After all wasn't she still that timid stuttering dobe-loving girl that she was in the past? No, of course not. Sasuke had to admit it; even if she seemed mostly the same she had changed to an extent. Slowly but surely she was turning into a strong and beautiful ninja.

While Sasuke was pondering the dark haired Hyuuga, Karin was currently racking her brain for a witty insult, normally she always had something clever and crude to say but this little bitch of a Hyuuga was infuriating her to no end, as a result she couldn't think straight. All she could think about was crushing this little annoyance known as Hyuuga Hinata of Konoha.

* * *

Eventually Hinata had set up a pot(which Juugo kindly made out of stone) and had a vegetable(more like random herbs from the forest) stew cooking inside it and despite being made from somewhat different ingredients everyone(including Karin) had to admit that it smelled quite delicious.

Sasuke was still eyeing Hinata discreetly; he watched her every move, even if it was the slightest flick of the wrist or that small timid habit she had of pressing her fingers together. He couldn't help it, everything about her just called him in and not a subtle call either, more like a loud addictive scream. He watched her as she occasionally stirred the stew around, she looked so at peace just sitting their cooking and that comment she made to Karin had sent the red-head brooding to far up in the tree above him, ah, quietness, it was like heaven but something annoyed him also. It was the way Suigetsu was watching her too, though it wasn't quite like the intent gaze Sasuke was sending the girl but it still bugged him. Suigetsu watched her as if she was some type of show, something amusing. He didn't seem too interested but one could tell he was intrigued to some sort of extent even the giant Juugo watched her with slight interest and it really ticked the Uchiha Avenger off; everyone was staring at his property and that didn't settle well with him, it didn't settle well at all.

Sasuke ended up sitting on the ground as well, his back to the tree, one leg folded up and the other stretched out leisurely, if it weren't for his brooding expression he might actually look comfortable.

About fifteen minutes later Hinata announced that the stew was ready and Juugo supplied her with some stone made bowls, which she appreciated. Sooner or later the male members of Team Hebi got up and got their own bowls and started sipping from them because there were no spoons. Karin just watched from the tree bitterly, her arms stubbornly crossed and her eyes dark with anger.

Finally Sasuke went over to Karin and glared up at her, "You better eat Karin. I don't want you hindering the team by fainting from starvation or something irritating like that." and with that Sasuke walked away to get himself a second helping.

Karin sighed audibly and jumped down from the tree, she then did exactly what Sasuke said and ate, she yanked a bowl rudely from Hinata, filled it up and then gulped it down after that she threw the bowl to the ground and went back to high up in the tree.

"So unlady like." Juugo commented with a sigh.

Suigetsu nodded in agreement and as usual Sasuke merely grunted. Hinata stifled the urge to giggle.

Once everyone had eaten their fill Hinata disposed of the stone pots and bowls and started up an actual fire. She also sat a bit close to it, the night was cold.

The indigo-haired girl clutched her sides, trying to keep herself warmer. She silently wondered why she had chosen such thin clothing; she missed her old jacket, warm and protective.

Sasuke wanted to sit by her and keep her warm but of course he couldn't do such a thing on the presence of Team Hebi. It's not like he was ashamed or anything rather he didn't want to deal with any annoying situations that might come of it. He especially didn't want to deal with Karins infernal whining.

But eventually he heard Hinata yawn and shortly after she was asleep on her side, she still looked a little cold but it would seem that the fire was doing its job in warming her up.

* * *

Lavender hues fluttered open only to find that Sasuke had been poking her in an attempt to awake her, sadly for Hinata it worked. Once Sasuke confirmed that she was indeed awake he walked off somewhere. Hinata rubbed her tired eyes and then looked around, she sighed softly, it couldn't be any later then four in the morning.

When Sasuke came back he gave each member a piece of fruit, muttering something about conveniently finding a fruit tree nearby. Suigetsu and Juugo grunted tiredly and accepted their fruit, Karin gave an enthusiastic thank you and hugged Sasuke greedily, Sasuke pried her off of himself with little effort.

"Here." said the coal-eyed boy lazily as he tossed the fruit at Hinata.

She gave him a grateful smile and bit into the fruit, for something found out in the forest it was pretty good, now she just hoped that it wasn't poisoned. After that was done Sasuke started making his way back over to Karin.

"Karin."

"Yes Sasuke-kunnnnn!" she drawled flirtatiously in reply.

"How far and how many?" he asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"Well, there are about five of them and there not too far either only a couple miles I think but their not moving either. Also, last night I picked up another group approaching, there is about four in that group. They are farther away but their still moving." she said to him, trying to grasp his arm but he easily evaded her.

"We move out now." Sasuke commanded.

Hinata got up from where she was seated instantly and put out the fire as well as covering it up, making it look like just another plain patch of ground, she slung her bag around her shoulders and went to stand next to Sasuke. Karin who has made a habit of glaring at Hinata was doing so again, she immediately went to Sasukes side.

Suigetsu probably would have placed a blade to Sasukes neck and say that he's not leader but currently it was still too early to do so, so he and Juugo made their way towards the Uchiha, The Hyuuga and the red-head.

And then it was as if they were never there. Once more Team Hebi was flying threw the trees without stop and Sasuke often picked up the pace. For a while it was difficult for Hinata to keep up but eventually she got used to the constant running and the speed.

* * *

"Oh, geez let's take a break now guys." said a tired feminine voice.

"But Ino-san, we must keep going, our youthfulness will fuel us!" cried a rather enthusiastic voice.

"Oh Lee, shut up." muttered Ino in response, "I care about Hinata-chan as much as any of you but we can't just keep going without rest until we find her, because who knows what we'll encounter when we get there, we could end up fighting who ever she's with and how can we fight if we're exhausted?"

"Ino-chan is right." replied yet another feminine voice.

"Well, if Sakura-san says so." Lee instantly changed his opinion and sat down eagerly.

"Whatever." sighed another voice boredly.

"Sai-san, you should be more youthful! Enjoy life." cried Lee cheerfully.

Sai chose to ignore this and turn away from the group.

"But Tsunade-sama sure is sending a lot of people after Hinata-chan, ne? I mean after all she didn't send this many after Sasuke-kun did she?" commented Ino as she stretched some.

"Well, this group isn't that much bigger then the one that was sent after Sasuke-kun and besides Konoha needed all the other ninja so she didn't have many ninja to choose from." replied Sakura sadly.

"Yeah, seems like she didn't have many to choose from this time either, because Hinata-chan is the Hyuuga heir you'd think she had plenty of Jounin sent after her, right?" Ino chimed, still stretching.

"I bet her father probably sent some Hyuuga members after her too." began Lee, "So basically her search party is pretty big."

"You know, I still don't get it. Why did Hinata-chan leave?" Ino asked, hoping to find out a bit about it.

Sakura sighed and leaned her pink head against a tree, "I'm not really sure myself. Hinata-chan never showed signs of wanting to leave. I mean everything seemed to be going well for her. Her father finally acknowledge her, she's becoming a great medic nin, she's getting stronger and Naruto talks to her a lot more now too." she said, pondering the matter herself.

"You know what I think?" began Lee putting a hand to his chin in a thinking posture, "I think Hinata-chan felt like she really wasn't going anywhere even if we think she was. I think she wanted more out of her training and that she just wasn't getting it in Konoha and then apparently someone nudged her to leave with him/her."

"Yeah, maybe…I just hope she's okay." Sakura and Ino said in unison.

Sai just listened with mild interest, not really caring at all.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke-kunnnnn!" called out Karin from the back of the group.

"What is it Karin?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Well, I thought you might want to know that there's a third group after us now and there is about eight of them." she replied.

'_oh shit what a pain…'_ Sasuke thought to himself gingerly, he didn't really expect so many people to be sent after Hinata, even if she was the heiress to a noble clan.

"Sasuke-kun?" called out Karin again.

"What now Karin?" he snapped, feeling even angrier.

"That new group I told you about, well their coming in fast. In fact it should only be a few more minutes till they catch up." she explained.

Hinata made an audible gulp.

Sasuke sighed and signaled everyone to stop, "We might as well wait for them to come, we'll take them out and then continue on our way."

"Oh, really? Finally some fun!" Suigetsu said as he shifted the sword on his back, twisted excitement lighting up in his eyes.

'_oh god…'_ Hinata was feeling a bit uneasy.

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**Kyoko:** Review please:)


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